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For the last several years, Content Marketing has been a heavy buzzword in the marketing world. Some of the most recognized brands have not only paved the way with amazing content marketing strategies, but they have seen great success. But the marketing tactics deployed by these heavy-hitters sometimes seem intimidating to companies whose reach and budget aren’t quite as broad. The good news is that content marketing can work even with a limited marketing budget – and it’s time that you give it another look.

2018 will be over before we know it

How much have you published online so far? Have you created any fresh content for your customers this year?

Marketing expert David Meerman Scott is known for saying “on the web, you are what you publish.”

If you are a business owner or marketer, I hope those words make you sit up a little straighter. Think about them for a minute. “On the web, you are what you publish.”

If we are what we publish, that means content leaders like Ben & Jerry’s – whose web presence and online content creativity might even rival their ice cream – and other top content marketing brands – are winners.

So, what of you publish nothing?

I don’t think I even have to tell you. We all know “nothing” is the absolute last thing you want to be if you hope for a thriving business. If the only thing a potential customer can find about you is your company name, address and phone number – they are going to skip right past you and choose your competitor. Your competitor with the visually-appealing, easy-to-navigate website that is filled with useful blogs, answers to customer questions and impressive examples of their skills or products.

Content Marketing and SEO is a need and the data shows it

For smaller companies who might be both time and budget-pressed, the idea of investing either into content marketing might not seem worth it. It may seem like something just the largest brands do. But the data says differently. Let’s look at these statistics that HubSpot recently compiled on Local Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in their State of Inbound report:

– 72% of consumers who did a local search visited a store within five miles. (WordStream, 2016)
– 30% of mobile searches are related to a location. (Google, 2016)
– 28% of searches for something nearby result in a purchase. (Google, 2016)
– Local searches lead 50% of mobile visitors to visit stores within one day. (Google, 2014)
– 78% of local-mobile searches result in offline purchases. (Search Engine Land, 2014)

Your potential customers and clients know what they are after – and they are using Google and other search engines to find it. If you don’t have an online presence, potential customers are going to find – and choose – your competitors instead.

Organic SEO and content marketing win against paid search every time

Before you argue that paid SEO alone does the job, data tells us that in a battle against each other, content marketing and the resulting organic SEO, wins against paid searches every time. A recent study by Kapost reveals that content marketing results in three times the leads per dollar spent. The story rings true again when you match up content marketing against outbound marketing – with content marketing generating over three times as many leads as outbound marketing and costing approximately 62 percent less.

It’s time to start producing quality content and get into the content marketing game. Companies can no longer sit this out. Our team at ThinkPod Agency can help with a strategic marketing plan that takes your company’s content marketing and online presence to a new, lead-generating level. Contact us for quick conversation about what this could mean for your company. You can also find us by browsing the top content marketing companies here.